The Reformer Saving Houston’s Schools from Disaster

"The headline is that we have stopped the decline in NAEP scores that has been occurring over the past several years, even the last decade. We’ve turned the corner, and our students are now moving in the right direction. We are rebounding from COVID learning loss—at a faster rate than the state, national public districts, and even other large city districts." – Superintendent Mike Miles, January 2025

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) monitors educational progress across the nation. Houston Independent School District’s (HISD) progress stands out among similar districts, rebounding from the learning loss caused by the government response to COVID at a faster rate. The gains are especially noteworthy among Black students, whose fourth grade reading results increased by eight points. Students with disabilities also experienced significant growth with a ten point increase in eighth grade reading.

Much of the credit for the reforms that facilitated these achievements goes to Superintendent Mike Miles.

In 2019, HISD, was informed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), that the state would appoint a board of managers and a new superintendent at the behest of Commissioner of Education Mike Morath. The reason? Consistently poor performance among 21 of the district’s schools. The state's authority to intervene in HISD came from a 2015 law stipulating that a serially failing school district is subject to changes in governance.

TEA's action was predictably controversial among the vested interests in the district, of which there are many, nestled within a budget of more than $2 billion. The leadership of the teachers union and administration bureaucrats have been the most vocal opponents of his reforms, but a neutral observer might ask what they have accomplished for Houston's students, and even the teachers they purport to serve.

As a native Houstonian, I have firsthand experience with HISD's challenges. I am fortunate to be the son of a retired HISD teacher, whose classrooms I often got to visit. What I saw stood in stark contrast to my far-flung suburban school district. No one at my elementary school had discovered their mother's dead body in their apartment upon coming home. None of my classmates were learning English from scratch. We never stood in shock in our atrium as a man bled out at the front door of the school while fleeing from police.

Each of those things happened to my mother's students at schools in HISD more than 25 years ago. She excelled at helping students in difficult circumstances, despite the unspoken assumption among the education establishment that nothing can be done to improve their academic performance. When she sacrificed her own meager pay to bring the necessary supplies into the classroom, she concluded that the teachers union was more concerned with their own political ambition than the success of her and her students.

Deep-seated problems like these necessitate drastic change, and drastic change ruffles feathers. TEA’s governance overhaul sent the HISD school board and its apologists into an uproar, culminating in a yearslong legal battle. The courts eventually ruled in favor of TEA, and in June 2023, Commissioner Morath appointed Mike Miles to lead the transformation.

His work was cut out for him. As of 2022, only 18% of HISD 8th graders were able to read proficiently, and the same paltry share tested proficient in math, according to the NAEP assessment, often referred to as the nation's report card.

Yet in less than two years of Miles' leadership, his New Education System (NES) has repudiated the Houston education establishment's pessimism. Schools using the NES program have significantly outperformed non-NES schools, closing the achievement gap in every grade level. Reading proficiency among 5th and 6th graders increased 8-10 points. Math proficiency among 5th and 8th graders increased by double digits. All NES high schools improved by five or more points in every subject. Simply put, Miles' system works.

Proponents of equity should take note. NES redeploys resources and services to the most vulnerable students and schools, with an emphasis on increased instructional time. Other forms of student support, meanwhile, are not forgotten. To the contrary, HISD opened seven “Sunrise Centers” in lower-income areas to provide medical and mental healthcare, food pantries, clothing and uniform shops, case managers, and other social services.

Despite the stunning turnaround currently underway in HISD, Houston's largest teachers union continually denounces Miles and his program. None of their complaints change the fact that Miles has accomplished something that the teachers union failed to do for my mother: meaningfully increasing teacher pay. In addition to its academic accomplishments, NES also has increased teacher compensation, especially for those working in the most challenging areas. The average teacher salary in HISD is now $85,000, with a $10,000 stipend, whereas the statewide average is just under $56,000.

There is still room to improve HISD, to be sure. But Miles' NES program has demonstrated that there are proven solutions at hand, and now the test results are in, proving that the reforms are working. The nearly 200,000 students of HISD will have access to brighter futures because of this reform program, yet Houston's education establishment and its fellow travelers in the local media remain critical. Those who truly believe student achievement is the north star of the education system, however, celebrate HISD's newfound success and work to support such reforms nationwide.